


The Lettuce Escapades

by Iliascorvus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Cecil is there, First Meetings, Fluff, Lou Ellen is mentioned, M/M, Nico is the unwittingly annoying customer, Will works in a grocery store, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 08:38:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4515225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iliascorvus/pseuds/Iliascorvus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A first meeting Solangelo AU based on the prompt "Repeatedly comes into the shop I work at and picks up a lettuce then halfway through the shop decides they don’t want the lettuce and puts it back regardless of what aisle they’re in.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lettuce Escapades

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my best friend who helped me when I could not for the life of me figure out what to write, and to all the awesome people who encouraged me in this. You guys rock!!

At first Will had thought it was funny, the lettuce left randomly on shelves in the candies, the breads, and then the jams-and-jellies sections of the all-natural grocers he worked at. Searching for this Easter egg of produce had given him a humorous ending to his long week of part-time work and stressful pre-med classes. But after what must have been the thirtieth time finding the offending vegetable and carrying it back to its place, Will only thought it was annoying.  


Will was not a paranoid person. Or at least that’s what he told himself. But when he caught himself watching customers and peering into shopping carts to look for lettuce, he couldn't help feeling just a little bit hypocritical. Weeks passed, and with exams lurking just around the corner, Will was getting more and more desperate for a reprieve from his weekly torment.  


“I swear, if I see another lettuce in some random spot again I’m going to start having nightmares about the damn thing,” Will complained to his friend and coworker Cecil as they left the store one evening. Cecil was one of the grocer’s security guards, who monitored video feeds from the stores many security cameras. Will had been friends with him since they were kids, and it was through Cecil’s friend Lou Ellen that Will had gotten a job at the store.  


“I feel your pain" Cecil replied, "Do you know how many teenagers come in to make weird faces at the cameras? And last week someone started _moonwalking_ next the rice! I mean, do they seriously think I can’t see them?”  


Will tried to hide his laughter, but failed miserably as Cecil glared at him. “Sorry, I couldn't help it. But at least you can see them. I have no clue who my lettuce person is and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m looking right past them. Maybe I should strap a camera to the lettuce stand or something,” Will added sarcastically. He went to unlock the door to his apartment when Cecil suddenly slapped him on the back, making him drop his keys.  


“I’ve got it!” Cecil exclaimed, “That’s exactly what’ll work! I’ll show you when I find him! See you tomorrow!” Cecil scampered off in the direction of his own apartment, while Will watched him in confusion.  


True to his word, Cecil called Will into the security office a few days later. Numerous television screens were hooked to the wall, showing sections of the store and various people shopping. When Cecil was certain he had Will's full attention, he flamboyantly pointed to the screen closest to them. At first, Will wasn't sure what his friend was getting at. It was all just normal, looped security footage, wasn't it? Then he noticed the short, black haired teenager who appeared to be walking in and out of the feed. And with each image, he could be seen placing a bright, leafy green lettuce among the other products.  


Will gaped at the screen in front of him, glancing back and forth between it and Cecil as if one would confirm the growing realization of what Cecil was showing him. “I- I can’t- You actually- Oh my god, Cecil! That’s the guy who’s been doing it! With the lettuce! That’s him!”  


“That it is my good friend, and if you need more proof, please turn your attention to these beauties!” Cecil replied as he gestured to the other screens with a flourish.  


And there he was. A raven haired, pale looking boy picking up a leafy vegetable from the stand in front of him. Then, in the cans, in the toiletries, placing the bright green lettuce on the shelf next to whatever he was looking at and then walking off as if nothing had happened. Dates flashed across the bottom corners of the screens, the 12th, the 23rd, the 4th. Will beamed at Cecil, they had found him.  


The next day, Will stood at the ready for when the person he and Cecil had affectionately nicknamed “Death Boy”, tried to step up and take a lettuce. Will scanned the crowd expectantly, hoping for just a tiny glimpse of the telltale black hair or the unnaturally pale skin. A smile slowly grew on Will’s face, he would finally catch the person who was responsible for his weekly anguish. His eyes skimmed over every person, his head turning slowly as he scanned the area for the elusive-  


“Young man?” an elderly woman tapped on Wills shoulder. “Would you be so kind as to help me get that box down from the shelf over there? I can’t seem to reach.”  


“Of course ma’am.” Will said as he smiled at the woman, silently cursing himself for forgetting that he was at work. “I’d be happy to help!”  


By the time Will had finished helping the old woman (he had asked her if she needed help with anything else, and had ended up trailing along behind her for the rest of her shopping trip) he found himself on the exact opposite side of the store with less than two minutes until the time he and Cecil had estimated Death Boy would wander into the fresh veggies section of the grocers.  


Panic started to bubble in Wills chest, when suddenly the intercom crackled to life. Over the speakers came Cecil’s unmistakably mischievous voice. “Will Solace to the produce section, please. Repeat, Will Solace to the produce section. Target has entered the building, initiate plan twenty-three. Over.”  


Will had no idea what Cecil meant by “plan twenty-three”, but he figured that it was his cue to get over there, and fast. Will sprinted down the aisles, trying his best to avoid shopping carts and startled customers while praying to whatever gods would listen that he wouldn’t get fired for this. Will had just bolted around the last corner when he saw the black haired boy, arm outstretched towards the pile of crisp green lettuce.  


“Stop right there!” Will cried as he slid the remaining distance across the floor, arms wide as he blocked Death Boy’s reaching arm. The black haired boy quickly drew back his hand, and then looked at Will as if he just barged in on a wedding, before his face dropped back into the scowl Will had caught glimpses of on the security footage. Death Boy crossed his arms and stood up straighter, which didn’t do much since he wasn’t very tall, as Will attempted to catch his breath.  


“Why the hell are you _stopping_ me from getting my groceries?”  


“You- You keep picking it up and then- putting it back in random places and- why can’t you just put the damn thing back where it’s supposed to go!” Will huffed.  


“Isn’t that your job?” The black haired boy frowned.  


Whatever patience Will had left flew out the window. “I do not get paid minimum wage to constantly clean up after people!” he snapped, and a flash of annoyance crossed the shorter boys face.  


“Well please, _forgive me_ for my _ignorance_.”  


The words came out of Will’s mouth before he had the chance to think about them. “Maybe if you start putting them back where they’re supposed to go, Death Boy!”  


The look on the other boys face could only be described as murderous. “Do _not_ call me _Death Boy_!”  


The sudden lapse of silence that surrounded them brought Will’s attention to the other customers, most of whom were watching the interaction with thinly veiled amusement. Some of them more conspicuously than others.  


“Do you think we could continue this somewhere else?” Will asked sheepishly, most of his anger having turned to embarrassment.  


“I have to finish my shopping,” Death Boy said begrudgingly, “so you might as well just follow me.” He turned on his heel and stalked away, while Will trailed behind him.  


By the time they stopped in a nearby aisle, Will’s aggravation had completely dissipated. When the other boy turned to face him, arms crossed and expression annoyed, Will’s anger only seemed childish.  


The black haired boy raised an eyebrow expectantly as Will raked a hand through his hair.  


“So, um, sorry about that.” Will stammered, “It’s just that I’ve got a lot going on and the whole lettuce thing was getting on my nerves.”  


The shorter boy seemed to relax slightly. “No, it’s my fault, I should have known better. I just wish I had found out sooner so I could have saved you the trouble.”  


The way he said it, coupled with the fact that the other boy was now turning around to examine the products on the shelves, seemed like a dismissal. But if Will was honest with himself, he didn’t really want to leave. He shuffled around awkwardly until the black haired boy tossed a box into his basket and Will blurted out the first thing he could think of.  


“Your name is obviously not Death Boy, so what am I supposed to call you?”  


The shorter boy looked like he hadn’t expected Will to still be there, much less be talking to him. “Oh uh, I’m Nico di Angelo.”  


“I’m Will Solace. It’s, um, nice to meet you.”  


“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.”  


The hesitant sincerity in the other boy’s voice caught Will off guard. He stood there until he realized he was staring, and scrambled to think of something to say.  


“By the way, where are you from? I’ve never heard an accent like yours before.” Now that Will was paying attention to it, the foreign lilt to the black haired boy’s voice was alluring.  


“I’m from Italy” Nico replied as if he was surprised Will had asked, “I was born in Venice.”  


“Whoa, really?” Will exclaimed. “That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted to go there! Do gondoliers actually sing to you?”  


The sudden, amused smile that appeared on Nico’s face made butterflies erupt in Will’s stomach.  


“Yeah,” Nico grinned, “I guess they do.”  


From then on the conversation flowed easily from one topic to another, with Nico going into further depth about his origins, and Will detailing aspects of his own life. By the time Nico had finished his shopping, Will found that he had genuinely enjoyed the shorter boy’s company.  


A few weeks had passed since Will had confronted Nico about leaving lettuce in random places but Will had yet to get the cute Italian off his mind.  


It wasn’t as if Nico had ignored Will’s request. In fact, in the clips of security footage Cecil had shown Will, Nico now went out of his way to put the vegetable back in its place. Will hadn’t found lettuce on the shelves since. The thing that bothered Will though, was the fact that he hadn’t seen the shorter boy since either.  


_“It’s not like you see him regularly.”_ Will mentally berated himself while working one day. _“You never even noticed him until you met him, so it’s not surprising that you haven’t run into him again.”_ As much as Will tried to convince himself of that, he still couldn’t escape the feeling that Nico might be avoiding him.  


When Will had brought up his concerns with Cecil, his friend had merely laughed and compared him to a lovesick teenager.  


More time passed, and Will was strolling through the store, checking shelves and helping customers, when the leafy green of lettuce caught his eye.  


“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mumbled as he picked up the vegetable from among the colorful assortment of flowers it sat with.  


He might have missed the bright yellow sticky note if not for the distinct difference in color between it and the bouquet of red roses it was stuck to. Will’s annoyance over the lettuce was quickly replaced by curiosity as he picked up the small piece of paper. A phone number and a short message had been scrawled on the note, and a giddy smile worked its way onto Will’s face as he read the words.  


_Call me –Nico_


End file.
